Fla. man charged with murder after stray police bullet kills woman

Police arrived at a downtown bar as dispatchers relayed initial witness 911 reports that the suspect had opened fire into the club

By Jeff Weiner
Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO — The man described by a 911 caller as a "gun wielding maniac" who authorities say drew the fire of a police officer last week — including a stray shot that killed a bystander — now faces a murder charge, the Orlando Police Department said.

Kody Roach, 23, was shot and wounded by police outside Vixen Bar on Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando in the early hours of Aug. 19.

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He was taken to a local hospital and survived, but 22-year-old innocent bystander Maria Fernanda Godinez, who apparently was struck by a stray shot from Officer Eduardo Sanguino's gun, was fatally injured in the gunfire.

According to a newly released affidavit, Sanguino and a fellow bicycle officer, Jeff Angel, arrived at Vixen as dispatchers relayed initial witness 911 reports that Roach had opened fire into the club.

They found Roach at the bar's locked door, the affidavit states. He reportedly walked to the street "pointing his right hand at the officers," and ignored commands to get on the ground, instead backing up toward the bar again.

Angel fired his Taser, which was thwarted by Roach's loose clothes, the affidavit says.

After trying the door again, Roach went for his waistband with his right hand, the affidavit says:

"In order to prevent an armed individual from causing harm to any members of the public or to any of the surrounding officers, Ofc. Sanguino discharges his firearm nine times striking Roach at least five times," it states.

As he fell, Roach dropped a .40 caliber Ruger handgun from his right hand, the affidavit states. Investigators would later determine the gun was not loaded, but had been reported stolen, and Roach was the prime suspect.

Soon after, the officers were informed that a young woman, Fernanda Godinez, had been hit in the shoulder.

Though interviews with Vixen Bar employees and surveillance video, investigators were able to piece together the events that preceded the shooting, the affidavit says:

Roach arrived 12:22 a.m., "appeared to be heavily intoxicated and was acting in a belligerent manner," knocking a drink from a club goer's hand, the affidavit says. Another patron said Roach had put his gun on the bar top.

After trying to get Roach to pay for his drinks, bar employees threw him out, the affidavit says. One saw Roach reach for his waistband and rushed inside, locking the front door, investigators say.

According to the affidavit, Roach repeatedly banged on the locked door with the muzzle of the gun, leaving imprints.

He was also seen pacing back and forth with the gun in his hand, authorities said. Just before his violent confrontation with police, Roach went next door to Gitto's Pizza and ordered a slice, the affidavit says.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting. Sanguino and Angel are on administrative leave, as is common in police-involved shootings.

Roach now faces a charge of first-degree felony murder. When he fired, Sanguino had probable cause to believe